Can the crabs take over the axies?

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Hello reader,

In my family, the love of sports was handed down the traditional way. During one-on-one games on the miniature hoop hanging from the bedroom door, I was always Michael Jordan and my uncle was LeBron James. It offered my uncle an opportunity to talk to me about a hero of his youth and how he compared to a hero of mine.

Now, those conversations are often reversed. My uncle listens to me talk about why I prefer the plant, reptile, and dusk classes of axies over the others. Instead of shooting percentages and scoring averages, the conversation is about cards and energy that can mean the difference between victory and defeat.

The gaming industry is always evolving. Our big story for the day is one to do with crabs, minus the combination of stress and enjoyment as an emotional roller coaster ride (hopefully).

Today we look at:

• The newest play-to-earn game that could be the next Axie Infinity
• A gaming startup that has launched operations in Japan
• Other newsy highlights such as a fintech platform that is looking to compete with Grab and GoTo, and a ‘Robin Hood’ hacker who has exploited crypto worth US$52.8 million.

Also, if you’re a tech firm bringing your A-game to the startup ecosystem, do fill out this CDP x Tech in Asia questionnaire survey and celebrate your participation in the creation of a net-zero economy.

Premium summary

Battle of the crabs

Image credit: Timmy Loen

Crabada is a play-to-earn (P2E) idle game on the Avalanche blockchain that lets players own NFT crabs and earn rewards by mining, looting, battling, crafting items, and more. The “looting” game mode allows players to battle crabs owned by other people who may be mining their crabs at the time. While the game has a relatively smaller reach than Axie Infinity, Crabada has high user retention and revenue potential.

• Crabadology: To get started, Crabada players need a team of three NFT crabs, which they can buy for around US$8,000 in total. Players who can’t afford to do so can either use the game’s tavern feature – where experienced players deploy their idle crabs for rent – or buy a single NFT crab and rent it out until they earn enough money to buy all three.

• What’s it got over Axie Infinity?: Despite Axie Infinity’s efforts to revamp its game economics, the fact that more of its in-game currency, smooth love potion (SLP), has been minted than burned remains a critical issue, creating massive inflationary pressure for SLP and affecting the game’s long-term viability.

• Sustainable gaming: In the second half of 2021, when the number of SLP minted on Axie Infinity consistently outpaced those burned, the price of SLP took a beating. Meanwhile, Crabada’s team has introduced various inflation-reducing game mechanisms that increase the burn of Treasure Under Sea, its in-game currency. This keeps the token’s value from sliding.

YGG enters Mario city

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